ERHS goes wild, crazy

School raises money for Make-A-Wish Foundation

ERHS junior Bobbi Shepherd passes a wet sponge to a teammate. Once emptied into a bucket, the dry sponge was passed forward through the team’s legs.

MIKE NESPER

Eagle River High’s gym was transformed into a sea of colors and deafening noise during the Wild And Crazy Kid’s Olympics (WACKO) on Friday, Feb. 8.

The annual competition that pits each class and the faculty against one another is comprised of a variety of games — including an egg toss, Hula Hoop contest and tug-of-war — and some nontraditional contests, like slingshotting a rubber chicken the length of the gym to a teammate who tries to catch it in a giant bucket.

A wave of blue-clad seniors sprang from their seats and rushed the gym floor after being crowned champions of the event.

Watching the juniors, decked out head to toe in florescent orange, the sophomores, covered in green, and freshmen, sporting all things red, join her fellow seniors for a couple hours of fun and nonstop cheering is the best part of WACKO for senior class spirit director Gini Collins.

“It’s so energetic,” she said. “These kids have school spirit and they’re showing it.”

This year’s theme was “Harry Potter,” and the junior class took first for best decorations. The school raised nearly $750 from a coin drive to benefit Alaska’s Make-A-Wish Foundation.